George w



gutter! giatrs against @ffire.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILWAY SLEEPING-CARS.

@lg't 52mins intend it in time t me patent nutmrking part at insane.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. HUNT, of Hopkinton, in the county of Middlesex, and State of Massa chusetts, have invented an Improvement in Railway-Cars; and I do hereby declare that the following, taken in connection with the-drawings which accompany and form part of this specificatiom is'a description of my invention sulficient to enable those skilled in the art to practise it.

My invention relates to the construction of railway-cars, andhas particuler reference to such an arrangement and construction of the seats of ordinary carsas shall admit of their being formed into berths 0r beds, the upper part ofthe car'being also provided with leaves or pieces, which close into pockets in the opposite sides of the car, when running as a day car, but ovhieh are so hung and arranged that they may be swung out from the pockets and formed into suitable sleeping'berths at night, this arrangement of the car permitting the same car to be used, on long routes, as a sitting-car. by day anda sleeping-car at night, andavoiding the necessity of passengers changing from day cars to other sleeping-ears, or of a train being made up with, or having to take up, special sleeping-ears.

My invention consists, first, in so hanging some of the ordinary turn-over ear-seat backs, that they may be turned down into horizontal position in line with the adjacent seats, and in so constructing the backs next to each of such turn-down backs, that part of it maybe turned down into horizontal line with the seat on one'side of it, while the rest remains up and forms one end of the berth.

It also consists of the construction and arrangement ofthe leaves, fromwhich the upper berths are formed, each set of such leaves folding together, intoa'pocket in the side of the car, by day,-and swinging out, when required, to form a strong and firmly-supported berth.

The drawings represent so much of the interior of a car embodying my invention as is'neeessary to a clear understanding of my improvements.

A denotes a view of the interior of the car, looking towards the side of the car. B is a view of the interior of the car, taken between the seats. a denotes a portion of the floor; b, a portion of the roof; e, a portion of throws over, to reverse the facingot'; the seat,iu the usual-manner.

Two seats, with their backs, areshown in the drawing, at A, as also the back of a third seat, the respective backs being denoted by the letters efg. The baek'f, between the backs e g, besides being applied to arms 7:, which swing over, and thereby allow the position of the back to be reversed, is also so hung to one of'these arms, by 'pins 2', thatit may swing down therefrom into horizontal position, as seen at A, it'beingby this move ment brought into' the same" horizontal plane with the adjacent seat on each side of it, the back being made of such width as tojust fill the space between the two seats. When in this position, the back is supported (opposite to the pins on which it is hung) by stops'lc, projecting from the adjacent seat, or in any other suitable one side, and cl 01 two of the seats of an. ordinary railway-car. The seats are stationary, and the back of each manner, and when it is raised to form the seat-back, it is locked to the upper arm it by any suitable latching or H locking-mechanism.

The back, g, of the next seat in front is made in two parts, one part, Z, closing into the other, to formthe ordinary back, and turning down therefrom (as seen at Alinto horizontal line with the seat in rear of it, to form the berth, it being of a width to fill up the space between the upright part of the back and the said seat. It is supported in horizontal position by stops, m, or other suitable devices. and when shut up into the other part of the back, is'held there by any suitable means.

When the piece Zand the back f are thus dropped down, they form, with the seats, iutoeonnection with which they are brought, asleeping-berth, as will be readily seen, and the seats allalong the carmay be similarly arranged, each two seats being thus made capable of ready transformation into a bed.

The 0 will have afolding piece in itsside opposite to the berth, shown at A, to drop down in the formation of the next berth, but, as such next berth is not shown in the drawing, the back e is represented without this folding piece.

For the formation of a berth above the seats, folding leaves are employed, as follows: The bottom of such berth is formed of a long-leaf, it, (the length of the berth,) which is hinged at one edge to or near the side of the car, and so as to close up within a vertical pocket or recess, a, seen by the red lines MB, or drop down I into horizontal position, as seen at B, to form the berth. To form the ends of this berth, and, partially,-the ends of the berth below,'two sets of leaves areemployed-wne set at each end of the berth-which shut in against the-leaf'n-when closed up. The-upper lcagp, of eachset is hinged, at one end, to the vertical end piece ofthe pocket 0, as seen at B, and to the bottom of each leafip, is hinged another leaf, g. In fbrming the berth, the long leaf n is swung down from the pocket of each leaf, a, is swung out from the pocket 0, and each leaf, g,.down from the leaf 1'0, as .seen at A and B, and the upper berth is then complete, the front of the long leaf n being maintained in vertical position by hooks or projections from the leaf 'n, resting upon projections from the leaves 9, (a piece, r, turning up from the leaf n to form thefront' rail of the berth,) the leavesp being kept from swinging too far around by stops 8, and the leaves 9 being kept in position by the leaf n.- The leaves 9 drdp below the leaf 1;, and make, in connection with the seat-backs below them, the partitions between the lower berths. v

In the day-time, the leaf n is turned up into the recess or pocket 0; Each lower leaf, q, is turned up against the upperleaf-p, to whichit is hung, and the leavesp are'swnng roundinto the pockets 0, as seen by the red lines, all the pieces forming the upper berth being thus compactly folded together at the upper'part of the car',

' and. occupying-no space other than that due to the thickness of the boards. of which; the leaves are composed,

leaving the car but slightly differing in appearance from an ordinary car.

It will thus be seen that, without detracting from theneat appearance of the ordinary railway-car, and

without disturbing the common arrangement and general construction of the seats, I provide for conversion of.

the car into a sleeping-oar, and thereby avoid the necessity of having special cars with berths for night use.

I claim the construction and arrangement ofth e backs of car-seats, by which the whole of some of the backs, and parts of others, are formed into berths, in connection with adjacent seats, substantially as described.

I also claim the combination of the leaves mp, and q, hinged as shown, and to fold together, for a day car, I

or to be extended and madcinto a berth for anight car, substantially as described.

cs0. W. HUNT;

Witnesses:

Fmncrs GoULn, J. B. Cnosnv. 

